-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Nevada man was found guilty Thursday of raping and strangling a 19-year-old student in a string of attacks that rattled the university community in Reno two years ago .

A Washoe County , Nevada , jury convicted James Michael Biela , 28 , of first-degree murder and sexual assault in the death of Brianna Denison . He was also convicted of two counts of sexual assault for attacks on two other women . He was also convicted of one count of kidnapping related to one of those attacks .

The father and former construction worker faces the death penalty .

Denison , a sophomore at Santa Barbara City College in California , was last seen alive on her friend 's couch on January 20 , 2008 . Three weeks later , her body was found in a field near her friend 's home . She had been sexually assaulted and strangled .

A pair of panties that did not belong to Denison were found near the body , in what police said was a `` calling card '' that helped them connect Biela not only to Denison , but also to the other assaults .

From the witness stand in Biela 's capital murder trial , one of the women recounted how she was attacked on the University of Nevada-Reno campus . She said her assailant threatened her with a gun , raped her and took her panties as a souvenir . The defense challenged the identification because she earlier told a friend she could not describe her attacker to police .

The second woman , a student at the university , testified she was abducted outside her apartment and driven to a dark area and raped in the attacker 's vehicle . The woman testified that her assailant asked for her panties and took them with him .

The trial began with emotional testimony from Denison 's mother , her boyfriend , and a video showing her with friends at a diner just a few hours before she was abducted .

Denison was visiting friends in her hometown of Reno . After they attended a concert , she slept on the living room couch in a friend 's off-campus apartment . While she slept , someone crept into the apartment and snatched her , police and prosecutors said .

Her case triggered a flurry of national media coverage and thousands of tips , including the one that led to Biela 's arrest .

Police released a photo of the panties near Denison 's body and a description of the pickup truck . A friend of Biela 's girlfriend saw the photo of the panties , and thought she recognized the truck police described . She told investigators a friend 's boyfriend had a truck similar to the description , and that her friend had seen women 's panties inside it .

Detectives immediately followed up on the tip and , with permission from the girlfriend , took DNA samples from Biela 's 4-year-old son . Lab tests showed that the boy 's father -- Biela -- was almost certainly a match for the DNA found on the doorknob and at the crime scene , police said .

DNA obtained from the other victim 's rape kit matched Biela 's , according to testimony . Biela 's defense attorneys challenged the DNA testing method , claiming it was not accurate .

CNN 's Rupa Mikkilineni contributed to this report .

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James Biela convicted in rape , murder of Brianna Denison , attacks on two women

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Biela , 28 , faces the death penalty ; an anonymous tip led to his arrest

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Biela took his victims ' underwear , left a pair of panties near Denison 's body